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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Since the thread moved to a new page while I was trying to fix my link to the vlogbrother video, here it is again in case people missed it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVD7yWe-LrE
edited 10th Nov '16 7:10:37 PM by nightwyrm_zero
It's a reference to the fact that DC used to be a swamp before they literally drained it and built the city on top of it, with the implication that it's a metaphorical swamp full of gross stuff. (Nevermind that actual swamps are filled with tons of ecologically important things.)
I'm seeing MSNBC cover the Electoral College and how it works, and comparing three states with three EC reps and differing populations. I'm hoping that the EC becomes a bigger part of the conversation after this.
There are no democracies in the world that adopted the Electoral College when developing their governments after us.
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Pakistan wants a word with you
. As well as Burundi, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Myanmar, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu, and the Irish and French Senates.
The Electoral College idea isn't an American Exclusive.
What I said is still valid; there are several Democracies that indeed use Electoral Colleges for Major Political Elections.
edited 10th Nov '16 7:20:03 PM by DingoWalley1
That is in no way a convincing or even compelling argument. Especially when you compare three states with different populations that all have three electoral votes and realize that two of those states need more people to equal one vote than the first one does. Even if they're voting for the same person, you are automatically weighting things unfairly towards the first state.
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No, not relevant.
If the Electoral College actually overturned the will of a people in an election, regardless of whether said election is razor close or not, it would be a huge crisis, possibly a constitutional one, and major shit would go down and everyone would be outraged. If it's not going to fulfill that purpose to act s a check on people, then what is the point of even having it?!
And how is it better to have half or more of the country to have their voice overturned or to count less than a ton of empty grassland that's barely populated.
Fuck the Electoral College sideways with a chainsaw. It's fucked up 5 times in 56 elections, or 1 time out of 11, almost 10% of the time. Would you buy a microwave if there was a 10% chance it would blow up your house? If not, why should we accept less for our elections? And under the right situation, someone could win the Electoral College with about 22% of the popular vote.
Electoral College needs to be done away with, post haste.
edited 10th Nov '16 7:36:48 PM by TheWanderer
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
It'd be nice if the Electoral College did apportioned votes, though, rather than a bloc vote based on how the majority of their State went. It'd dissolve the "Swing State" focus by giving a stronger voice to the minority votes in the "Solid" States, like NY and Texas. As things stand, you're basically pissing in the wind if you're voting Red in NY or Blue in Texas, so a shift like that, I think, would split the difference quite nicely.
And in other news, Trump is apparently "strongly considering" appointing Stephen Bannon, the former Breitbart chairman, as Chief of Staff
.
Oh, and anyone who wants 3rd parties in America: it's never going to happen as long as there's an Electoral College. The Founders refused to accept that people would naturally group and organize into like minded parties, and because of that short sightedness, we're stuck without the true range of opinions being represented in the country.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |It's certainly not going to be done away with now. Nevermind how difficult it is to amend the constitution anyway I imagine the right is also keenly aware of how Clinton won the vote and will fight tooth and nail to maintain the advantage the EC (currently and in the foreseeable future) gives them in a Presidential election.
edited 10th Nov '16 7:43:21 PM by Mio
2nd time in 16 years they're benefitting from that. If Gore wins, maybe we get Osama in 2003, don't go in Iraq, etc.
This time, who knows how much damage it's going to do.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
My strategy is going to be ignoring Trump's domestic record (I can't do anything to save Americans on that front, so why bother? Its up to them now), hope for the best in terms of the global economy and geopolitical scene, and set a new personal goal other than school (stop drinking, entirely).
edited 10th Nov '16 7:48:19 PM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.@Mio; You say that like we shouldn't be laying the groundwork for it, at the very least. Nothing gets done without effort in politics, let alone particularly quickly. Like I've said repeatedly already, what we need is to get it on more people's radar.
And apparently there have been bills on the issue put forth. All defeated, obviously, but there are people who have been inclined to listen. There should be people inclined to listen now.
There was also the Dr. Insano presidency I linked before which is now Harsher in Hindsight.
Good strategy.
I've been more or less consumed by this election for the past 3 days and haven't done much in the way of anything productive, to the point I've more or less forgotten about my own situation (23 going on 24 next year, unemployed and not in school with little experience on my resume and without that many prospects).
I think I'll work on my art as I was doing before. This election has made me feel rather existential and I'd like to have one great work of art out before my time on this Earth is done, and hope that the work brings some sort of joy or fulfillment to other people.
At the very least, I feel like I've broken out of my Heroic BSoD by seeing that things might not be all bad, but I don't want to feel OK with things right now. Why should I?
I am going to fight for equality and justice wherever he crosses a line, however.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison

The thing I'm confused about is what "draining the swamp" means, exactly. Of course, Trump was always not very long on the actual details. I feel like some untangling of the crazy knots of the law and removing a few of the stupider regulations (just not the environmental regulations. Don't you dare touch those) might not be so bad, but this is the GOP, so they will inevitably do it in a blatantly self-serving manner and/or bungle it completely.
All I can hope for is that the new administration can get its shit together, which does not seem very likely.
And then I remember the other policies and no number of silver linings make me feel any better, because I remember just how much of a disaster this is.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison